Monday, May 31, 2010

As you all know, I really like the TBN range of lacquers. They're cheap and the colours I've tried to date have been lovely.

Unfortunately, Purple Rain is not one of the TBNs I love. In fact, I think I can safely say that this lacquer is the worst lacquer I've ever had the misfortune of having to work with. It is so hideous that I've hidden the photographic evidence under a jump lest you all have your last meal repeat on you.

If you have a great nail post to share, paste a link in the comments and share the link love.

I have no news to share this week, unless you really want to hear about me spending the first half of this week with my head in the toilet thanks to gastro and spending the second half sleeping 14 hours a day in recovery. Oh wait, I just told you.

Friday, May 28, 2010

With the other Barbara Daly I tried earlier this week, Salsa, I was left marginally underwhelmed by the formula. This formula is no better (four coats, runnier than a 3 year old's nose), but at least I adore the colour.

A beautiful, sexy, blue-red that I would wear every day of the week. I also think this is a great 'starter red' for those of you lacking the confidence to wear reds. It's not subtle by any means but it's definitely not in your face like some reds.

On a side note, how am I going to survive without my falsies next week?! I love them!

The nails in this review have been provided courtesy of Nailene. For more information on YGN's Disclosure Policy, please click here.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Thanks to the awesomesauce-ing Kris of My Lucid Bubble, I now have one of my much coveted lemmings.

And it's nothing short of MAGNIFICENT. An amazing purple with a flash of blue throughout. My only quibble is the formula - this took four coats and I can still see a visible nail line. A minor quibble, I agree, but something I ought to raise.

As I mentioned last week, I naturally wondered if this might be a dupe for BYS' Ultra Violet, so I lined them up side by side.

Err, can I get a hells no?! Definitely not a dupe. Whilst I like the Colour Club hue more, the formula on the BYS is two coats and alot creamier. So I guess I'll wear these depending on my mood. They are both amazing lacquers. I heart them like I heart Kris.

The nails in this review have been provided courtesy of Nailene. For more information on YGN's Disclosure Policy, please click here.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I have a couple of new Barbara Daly lacquers for you this week (albeit the ones this week are mini-sized), as sent to me by my lovely mother in law.

Diffused Light

(please excuse the flaky skin on my middle finger, it's a dry winter and my hands are feeling the effects)

This one is Salsa, a very unapologetic bright orange.

Unlike the other BarbaraDaly lacquers that I reviewed last week, this was most certainly not a one-coater. Indeed, this took four coats. Which is not an unusual occurrence, but I guess I was looking forward to his being as quick as the others.

It was also a runny formula which meant it quickly and uncontrollably seeped into the cuticles at the very first opportunity (which you can see in the closeup - yucko).

Having said that, the colour is truly gorgeous and the finish is.... well, look at that shine. You can see my fat head in my nails - awesomesauce.

All things considered, this is a nice enough lacquer but there are better formulas out there which give the same result without the drama / trauma.

The nails in this review have been provided courtesy of Nailene. For more information on YGN's Disclosure Policy, please click here.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

They look great with the French tip but, for me, they really do their best work wehen they have a lovely lacquer over the top. I feel like Michele of Lacquerized (damn her and her perfect - and natural - nails)!

This is Barry M's Pale Blue lacquer. As with all Barry M lacquers, this is a dream to work with. The formula is smooth and creamy. This took two coats to get to opaque.

Monday, May 24, 2010

You may be looking at this photo and thinking 'Mmmm, that doesn't look like Jacie's nails'. It might be the fact that they are perfectly shaped (which mine never are) or the fact that there is a fuzzy line between the pink of the nail bed and the white tip (I'm pretty sure angles like that don't happen in nature) that gives it away.

And you'd be right!

I was recently sent some products from Nailene to trial (and some products to giveaway to my readers) and, I must admit, I might be turned around on the whole 'I really hate fake nails' things.

For a start, these are very easy to apply. You guys all know how much I suck at anything beyond 'put polish on hands'. I'm a complete nail art fail. This took me five minutes for both hands.

And, although they are obviously fake upon close inspection, you really can't tell from afar. I wore these out to dinner on Saturday night and everyone commented on how nice my nails were looking. I can totally see how wearing these would become addictive. Who doesn't want perfect nails all the time?

To remove, I soaked a cotton swab in acetone, placed on the nail and wrapped the finger in foil. Within 20 minutes, the nail and glue had completely dissolved. I didn't notice any damage on my nail bed resulting from the nails but I did wait until the nail had completely dissolved so that might have something to do with it.

All up - super impressed. So much so that all of the manicures this week have been done using the Nailene nails.

I'm proud to offer you guys the opportunity to win some great Nailene products. Click on the jump to find out more.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

My apologies for the sorry state of the commenting system. I am in the process of moving everything over to to Disqus. All new comments will appear after moderation (I hate to do this but the site is getting attacked with all sorts of spam, from the innocuous 'Hi, nice colour, please come to look at my site. Nice ladies' to the more insidious 'improve your performance in the bedroom' stuff).

All older comments will be imported over the next day. Thanks for your patience everyone!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Now I understand all the fuss over the Nfu.Oh. This does not glide on like butter. It's like nectar. So smooth. So easy to apply. Utter perfection. I totally get it.

Big thanks to Ange from Scandalously Polished who ordered these for me during the recent Fabulous Street sale. She did a fab job in sending them my way, even though I threatened to punch her in the b**b when she wouldn't tell me how much they ended up costing. Thanks Ange!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Continuing on my series of, 'wow that was an embarassing swatch', here is a resurrected Power Up by kit.

Diffused Light

Excuse the boo-boo on my index finger. I seem to have issues with index finger application at the moment. It's a rebel finger and, were it not for the fact that it is attached to my hand, I'd be giving it its marching orders.

Man, kit lacquers are good. This is one coat and it's freaking awesomesauce of a thousand flavours.

I also managed to get a few shots of this in the sunlight (note the redone index finger - I warned it that a grounding was on offer if it did not behave). This is strictly a black with silver shimmer so it doesn't reflect a huge amount of colours, but it's still delightful.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

When I first saw the Roman Holiday Collection on the Mecca website, I think I let out an audible sigh. What a disappointing collection. Only two lacquers: one a red and the other a pale, sheer looking pink.

I steadfastly refused to buy this. For a whole two seconds because I have an addiction to Mecca that cannot be tamed.

This collection is going to set no-one on fire. But these are classic shades that should be considered staples, not unlike a good leather jacket. You may not always wear it but you know that it will look good when you do.

Anyway, enough of me faffing about. Click on the jump to see this lovely collection. All photos are taken in diffused light.

As many of you know, I swatch in diffused light for a number of reasons. But mainly because the only time I can get to swatch is on the weekend and, working full-time, I'd rather spend my daylight time with the boys. So I swatch at night when the sun is well and truly gone.

But the past weekend, I actually got a couple of hours and so..... after the jump we have this most magnificant lacquer in beautiful bright sunlight. Set your faces to awe and put your sunglasses on!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Just in case any of you missed it, I am now the resident nail expert at Crush Cosmetics. So, if you have any questions, let me know!

I have Color Club's Ultra Violet winging its way to me at the moment, so I thought it prudent to trial BYS' version before its alter ego arrived. I don't want them fighting over me. ;-P

Diffused Light

Once again, BYS just can't put a foot wrong. This is like butter. It glides on so easily that this swatch is clean up free. Most of the time, I need to do a quick cleanup to make sure all is tidy. Not with this little beauty. The brush and the formula is utter perfection.

The finish is a semi-matte / satin finish. I love the glassy finish so I used a coat of Seche Vite over the top.

And the colour is divine. This reminds me of 80s music and permed hair which, for me anyway, is not necessarily a bad image to have in my head whilst wearing this. :-))

Friday, May 14, 2010

Barry M's Mint Green is a lovely - if very dupeable - gelati-esque green. Although it looked like it was going to be a right royal pain in the a** in the bottle, it actually glided on very easily and was opaque in two coats. Yay for lazy manicures!

As I mentioned, this is infinitely dupeable. I'm sorry I haven't done a side by side here but it's been a rough week. I'm doing my job plus my colleague's job whilst she is on extended leave and it's been totally crazy! I've literally been coming home, eating dinner, writing a post and then going to bed. Nuts. Hopefully things will calm down next week.